The present invention relates to an improved wick lubricated spinning and twisting ring construction.
By way of background, spinning and twisting rings require precise amounts of lubrication throughout their internal surface for proper operation. If the distribution of the lubricant is not uniform, the traveler which rides on the spinning ring may tend to be impeded in its movement when it rides on portions which are not properly lubricated. The non-uniform lubrication is often experienced when the spinning and twisting rings are not perfectly level. This situation occurs frequently because the rings are mounted on rails which in turn are mounted on a frame of a machine which may be as much as 60 feet long. If the frame is not perfectly level, the rails will not be perfectly level and the spinning and twisting rings mounted thereon may be tilted from side-to-side or from front to back.
In addition to the foregoing, a wick-lubricated spinning ring such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,067 is known. In this ring, a wick is threaded through the annular conduit within the ring which carries lubricant to the inner surface of the ring. However, threading a wick through the annular conduit was a difficult and time-consuming task. Furthermore, in this prior construction there were no radial wicks for conveying lubricant to the inner surface of the ring.